#…and then in s11 where hes worried about money and out of a job

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

ok so I KNOW im annoying about how much ooc shit bothers me, I KNOW. y’all have come after me for ranting about it several times, HOWEVER, one ooc thing i will always accept is post-s11 ian as an emt. is it logical? not really. is he a felon? yup. but i still have hope🙏 like everytime anyone has ever done a fic where they explain ian becoming an emt again the logic is so flawed but i do not care because i desperately need emt ian back. if i ever see ian referred to as an “ex emt” in fics i will cry JUST LET HIM HAVE THAT FUCKING JOB UGHHH

[mishervellous]

Maybe this is too weird or specific, but I would really love to see Ian comforting Mickey about his mom? Like Laura reached out to him after s11 and Mickey doesn’t know how to cope with that

my dear anon, I loved this prompt so much! idk if I ran too far with it, so definitely let me know. I hope you enjoy 💙

Title: Her

Wordcount: 3639

(CW: mentions of child abuse, sexual abuse and panic attacks)

“You’re gonna want to add your shredded carrots next.”

Ian momentarily pauses the video recipe, stirring his soup, and bringing the wooden spoon up to his mouth to taste it. He doesn’t turn around when he speaks over his shoulder. “Can you pass me the carrots?”

The hand he extends towards Mickey remains empty. Ian stretches his fingers, gesturing with them for the veggies. “Mick?”

When that too goes unanswered, Ian turns to face his husband. The yellow bowl with the rinsed carrots stays where he had put it not ten minutes ago, the sticks still seemingly untouched. Mickey is gripping his half-drunk beer tightly, his eyes fixated on the opened envelope in front of him.

Sighing, Ian turns off the stove, locking his propped up iPad, and wipes his hands on his gray sweatpants before joining Mickey at the kitchen table. His husband doesn’t acknowledge him sitting down, stuck in a worried trance, an internal conflict playing out over the splayed piece of paper.

“Mickey.” When Ian places his hand on top of Mickey’s, he recoils from the touch like he’s been burned. “She’s fine.”

“What if she’s not?” Mickey still doesn’t look at him, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. “What if she’s fucking dead?”

“She’s not dead. They would’ve written that if she was, wouldn’t they?” Ian takes the letter in his hand, but Mickey’s gaze stays put on that same spot on the table. He rereads the first few lines out loud. “She wants to discuss her will with you—as in, she’s gonna be there. Nothing happened to her, Mick.”

“They could be lying.” Mickey swallows, flexing the hand that’s not holding onto the beer bottle. “To keep me from flipping out or some shit.”

“Then it’s safe to say that they’re doing a pretty shitty job at it.” His husband does look up then. Ian gives him an encouraging smile, patting his tense hand. “I’m sure your mom’s fine, Mick. And tomorrow when we see her you’ll feel like a big dummy for worrying so much instead of chopping these carrots.”

“Shit, your soup.” Mickey sighs, scrubbings his face with his hands. “Fuck. ‘M sorry.”

Ian stands up, leaning down, and placing a smacking kiss on his husband’s head. “It’s okay, I’ll do it. Just chill out now, yeah?”

“No way I’m letting you chop ‘em. You can’t chop for shit.” He goes to grab a carrot, leaving the bottle in favor of grabbing the knife that lays forgotten near the chopping board. Ian chuckles, going back to the pot, and turning both the stove, and the iPad back on.

And to think that Mickey had disregarded that same letter when they had gotten it in the mail less than a week ago. If it hadn’t been for Ian noticing it near the can before taking the trash out they wouldn’t have known about this whole will situation, this mysterious meeting that was happening tomorrow morning in Detroit. His husband had ignored it, thinking it was yet another money-hungry church looking for donations, or some unwanted advertisement of some kind.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that the official-looking envelope was addressed to Mickey’s full name, Ian honestly wouldn’t have known it had come directly from Laura Milkovich—technically Laura Andersen now—herself.

From her lawyers, to be specific.

Mickey had been on edge ever since, what with the law firm making this a bit too formal for his liking, and for all this inheritance talk. He’d immediately thought his mother must be dead, and these people were just letting him know that he was mentioned in her will. Mickey had been barely able to hide his panic, and worry from Ian.

But the letter’s wording told a different story.

At the end of the day, only time would tell. And that time is three in the morning, the moment they embark on their journey to Detroit. Ian had offered to skip his zyprexa last night in order to be able to take turns in driving this early in the morning, but Mickey had scolded him, and told him to not even think about it. So, Ian does feel a little guilty zoning out in the passenger seat every five minutes, fighting the effects of his meds in order to keep his husband company at the wheel.

Ian knew Mickey was gonna be tense, and the only thing that was gonna calm him down was gonna be seeing his mom alive, and kicking. Until then, Ian was more than happy to intertwine their fingers, and kiss the back of Mickey’s hand whenever he could feel his grip tightening. He didn’t ask any questions or make any comment when he woke up to a gentle kiss being placed on his forehead while they were waiting at a red light, just offering Mickey yet another encouraging smile, and a gentle squeeze of his hand, suggesting they get some breakfast in them before crossing into Michigan.

At around seven is when Ian took matters into his own hands, and convinced Mickey to let him drive the rest of the way. His husband looked so tired after a predictably sleepless night, and the tension was getting the best of him in the form of violent road rage, and excessive speeding—excessive even for him. Almost like he wanted to get there as soon as possible despite the appointment beginning at 9:30.

After attempting to distract him with silly conversations, and Pat Benatar’s singalongs, Mickey actually managed to fall asleep at some point. And when Ian had pulled up into the firm’s parking lot at around 9, he’d let Mickey sleep for as long as possible before gently waking him up with a hand on his jean-clad thigh.

And now that they’re here, Mickey is a bundle of nerves. He hasn’t stopped aimlessly walking in circles, forcefully snapping at the people strolling around in their expensive three piece suits.

Around 9:45 is when they finally see her. Rather, when Mickey seems to spot her. The only reason why Ian knows that Mickey has recognized her is because he seems to both deflate, and freeze on the spot, his week-long worry being replaced in real time by a multitude of feelings Ian isn’t able to read right away. He goes to stand by his husband’s side, taking in the sight of Laura Milkovich—Andersen—for the first time.

It’s a tad eerie how much she looks like Mandy. Laura’s obviously older, but with her black, perfectly styled hair, and her piercing blue eyes the resemblance is uncanny. She looks so much like Mickey too, and it gets strikingly more obvious the closer she gets to them. Laura has a small smile on her face, a tailored blue blazer, and jacket clashing with her pale skin. She’s followed by two middle aged men, dressed in their own fancy suits. With their jeans, and sweaters, it’s safe to assume that Ian and Mickey are definitely the only underdressed people in here.

Laura is beautiful. She smells florally, and expensive.

Ian turns his attention back on Mickey, and his heart falls to his stomach. His husband looks both incredibly relieved, and deeply pained—his mom isn’t dead, but it’s been just so, so long since he’s last seen her.

Since she’s run away from them.

“It’s so good to see you, Mikhailo. I’m glad you could make it.” Laura is soft spoken. She looks miles away from the archetype of a Milkovich. Mickey doesn’t react to that, just stays frozen still, his eyes trained on his mom. They are glassy.

Then Laura does something that leaves Ian in disbelief: instead of hugging Mickey, her son that she hasn’t seen in close to twenty years, she extends her hand for him to shake. This formal, cold gesture that leaves Ian wondering what kind of parent would treat a reunion like this with the same mannerisms of a business meeting.

Mickey just looks at the stretched out hand until Laura gets the hint, and retracts it. She nods slightly, shifting her attention towards Ian. “Who’s your friend here?”

They’re past the point of hiding. They make out on their balcony like two teenagers for everyone to see, they walk the streets of Chicago hand in hand more often than not. Ian’s reluctance isn’t about being ashamed of being married to Mickey, it’s about boundaries; he doesn’t know if Mickey wants her to know. This is his mom, and though she’s treating this like it’s an inconvenient formality rather than a touching moment, she’s still his family. He deserves the right to tell her when he’s ready.

So Ian just extends his own hand, and when Laura goes to shake it he offers her a small smile. “I’m Ian Gallagher.”

“Are you Frank Gallagher’s kid?” Laura asks. Ian just nods, not wanting to get into all of that right now. “Oh, how nice. Tell him I said hi.”

Mickey shakes his head to his right. Ian just goes along with it. “Sure.”

“He’s my husband.” They all look at Mickey—suited men included—when he speaks. Laura looks surprised, her mouth opening wordessly for a moment. “Ian’s my husband.”

“Oh.” Laura clasps her hands together, looking from Ian to Mickey, and back to what Ian assumes to be her lawyers before finally speaking. “I—that’s awesome. Congrats. We, uhm.” She gestures behind her, towards the room she had emerged from. “We’ll have more privacy there, so you guys can tell me everything.”

Both Ian, and Mickey relax a bit at that. When Laura makes her way towards the room, making sure they’re actually following her, Ian places a comforting hand on the small of Mickey’s back.

And they do tell her everything. Mostly everything anyway. They answer her questions about how they ended up together, leaving out the nasty, sometimes gruesome details, how’s life in Chicago nowadays, what they do for a living. It seems like Laura’s initial coldness was born out of nerves rather than disdain, because the more they talk, the more she seems to let loose.

And so does Mickey.

His husband even manages to smile once or twice, a couple of his beautiful ones that accentuate his smile lines, and white teeth.

Laura seems happy that they’re doing good, both in life, and financially. When Mickey asks what this meeting is about, Laura waves a hand around, claiming that it’s just some boring formalities, and that she just needed him to sign a couple of papers, reassuring them that they would be on their merry way soon.

When she leaves the room to go look for her lawyers, Mickey lets out a big sigh—Ian knows it’s from relief.

“Now I know where you got your good looks from.” Ian teases, chuckling when Mickey looks at him with a disgusted face.

“Stop calling my mom hot, you weirdo.”

“So you’re calling yourself hot.”

“Shut up. You know what I mean.”

Ian snickers again, bumping his boot against Mickey’s calf. “Hey, I wasn’t complaining. I agree with you.”

Laura comes back a while later, lawyers in tow. They produce a stack of papers from a suitcase, offering Mickey a fancy pen to do his signing. But just as Mickey is about to sign the first document, he stops. Looking up from it, his tone is tense when he asks, “The fuck does waiver of rights of inheritance mean?”

Laura stalls. She looks at one of her lawyers, who in turn nods before addressing Mickey. “Mr. Milkovich, this is a mere formality. You just need to sign it and you’ll be out of here.”

“I’m not signing shit until you tell me what it means.”

Ian tenses up beside Mickey. He’s not a lawyer, but a gut feeling tells him this is not going to end well. Laura sighs, clasping her hands together on top of the cherry-wood table. She doesn’t look at him when she speaks. “You are giving up your rights of inheritance over my will.”

Oh, shit.

This is the worst case scenario Ian could have possibly envisioned. Looking at Mickey, and in an attempt to remind him that he’s not facing this alone, Ian hooks his ankle with his own.

“What?”

“Mr. Milkovich—,”

“Will you shut the fuck up? I’m talking to her.” Mickey snaps at one of the lawyers. He turns back to his mom. “What the fuck is this?”

“Is this about money, Mikhailo?” Laura’s tone of voice raises. Mickey looks taken aback by that. “You told me you were doing fine financially. What’s this about?”

“What’s this—,” Mickey looks frantic, making eye contact with Ian with his own wet ones, looking for confirmation that he isn’t going crazy, that Ian’s hearing this bullshit too. Ian’s heart hurts seeing his husband like this, but he knows he can’t interfere. He just places a soothing hand on his thigh, hoping to ground him with his touch. “Are you fucking serious? I thought you were fucking dead! I don’t fucking care about the money! Why are you doing this?!” Mickey’s voice breaks on the last few words.

“Because I don’t want anything to do with a Milkovich ever again.” Laura is stern, but her red-rimmed eyes betray her authoritative tone. “My money will go to my daughters, and my daughters alone.”

Mickey chuckles mirthlessly, pressing his thumb, and forefinger into his eyes, hard. When he speaks again his voice is raised, but broken. “I’m your son too. Before you ran away, I was your fucking son too.”

“If this is about the inheritance, Mrs. Andersen is willing to pay a sum of three thousand dollars provided that you sign the affidavit.”

Mickey shakes his head. He stands up, his hands shaking at his sides. The rage overcomes the heartbreak, and Ian can do nothing but stay close. “Is this what I’m worth to you? Three grand?” He takes the papers, throwing them at her. “You can shove your money up your ass for all I care, bitch! Fuck you!”

“I don’t want anything to do with a Milkovich because I’ve been hurt, Mikhailo! You don’t understand my pain, my suffering! You have no idea what I’ve been through!” Laura shouts.

“I do understand, because guess who was left behind to get beaten up and tortured and fucking raped over and over again before even getting the chance to start the second grade?! Your fucking kids! We were there!” Mickey is screaming back. A tear spills down his cheek.

Ian stands up, wrapping a hand around his husband’s arm. “Mickey, let’s go.”

Mickey shrugs him off violently. His voice wavers as he keeps on screaming. “I don’t give a fuck about your money, or your will, or any of this bullshit—but don’t you fucking dare tell me that I don’t understand what it’s like, you fucking coward!”

Ian is left there with Laura, and her lawyers as Mickey storms out of the room. The men are looking at her, while Laura silently cries, and shakes.

When he leaves the firm, it’s raining. His shoes get soaked first, then his hair, as he sets off to find his husband.

By the time he hears the sound of metal being struck coming from an alley, as it aligns perfectly with a thunder in the distance, Ian is completely drenched. When he spots Mickey, kicking an innocent trash can to his demise, his wet hair is sticking to his reddened forehead. He stopped crying, and now he’s just raging.

Ian doesn’t approach just yet. He lets Mickey get his way with the trash can, waits for him to calm his breathing, and sit down on the sidewalk, head in hands. He’s visibly shaking. Ian takes a few steps towards him.

He’s never seen Mickey so hurt, and angry before.

“Fuck her. Fuck that fucking cunt.” His mumbles are like the unholiest of litanies, and before Mickey can crumble right before his eyes, Ian closes the space between them, crouching down in front of him on the slippery asphalt.

He wraps his hands around Mickey’s wrists, gently prying his hands away from his face. Trying to keep him there with him, to let him know he’s not alone.

Mickey stubbornly resists Ian at first. He pushes him away, peeling away Ian’s arms as they try to wrap around his shoulders. “Don’t fucking touch me, Gallagher. Leave me the fuck alone.”

But at one point he grips Ian’s sweater, bringing him closer, and closer. Nestling his face into the crook of Ian’s neck, and it’s at that moment that Ian hears a sound he hopes he will never have to hear ever again: Mickey is sobbing.

Ian just wraps his arms around his husband’s shaking shoulders, tight. Rests his lips right above his left ear, rocking them slightly back, and forth, and shushing him gently when the sobs get so strong it seems like they must be hurting like a bitch.

Mickey looks so small like this, in Ian’s arms, holding onto him for dear life. The sky cries harder with him.

“I’m her kid.” He says again, and again. He sounds almost incoherent. Ian holds him impossibly closer, whispering affirmatives right into his ear. “I’m her fucking kid too.”

His husband has been through so much. He won’t have to go through this alone.

***

Mickey lights up his smoke just as one of Laura’s daughters—he couldn’t be fucked to remember what her name is—leans against the railing of the firm’s emergency exit.

Last night was kind of a blur. He just remembers a motel, some unknown game show playing on mute on the shitty room’s TV, and crying himself to sleep like he’s some kind of pussy.

Mickey knows he should feel ashamed with how he handled the whole situation yesterday. He’s aware that he can’t just disintegrate like that over nothing, in front of Ian nonetheless. He feels shameful, but mostly lighter—he has to admit that crying does help, despite himself.

He hears Ian laughing his default business fake-as-fuck laughter with one of Laura’s lawyers. He forgets about Laura’s daughter being there until she speaks.

“Is that really your husband?” She says, nonchalantly. Though she looks mostly curious rather than judgemental about it, Mickey is on the defensive right away.

“You got a problem with that, princess?”

The girl—she must be older than eighteen to be here in lieu of Laura actually partaking in take-two of this shit show—is your average-looking, average-dressing middle class chick, with her knee-length girly dress, and the latest iPhone in hand.

She shrugs. “Nah. He’s just hot. Like, My Calvins hot.”

Mickey turns fully around towards her, giving her an unimpressed once-over. He kinda digs her gall. “The fuck is your name again?”

“Michelle.” When Mickey snorts, Michelle rolls her eyes. “I know, mom could’ve done with a fucking name book.”

“You don’t say.”

They just look at each other for a while. He’s still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he apparently has not one, but two sisters he doesn’t know shit about.

“Is mom happy here?” The question comes as a surprise to Mickey’s own ears. He hates that it’s too late to backtrack now; he hates that he really wants to know the answer still.

Michelle shrugs again. “Yeah.”

Mickey nods. He flicks the butt of the cigarette into the parking lot just as he spots his mom in the distance, waiting by her car. Mickey did sign the stupid papers in the end, and it took little to no convincing because he really doesn’t care about any of it, he just wants to go back to his apartment—and he’s honestly glad his mom was chicken shit enough not to show up this time around.

From what he could see though, Michelle is good people.

When the two lawyers make their way out of the firm, Michelle surprises Mickey by giving him a quick hug. “It was good to meet you, Mickey.” And then she turns around, finger gunning Ian as he exits the place too. “Good looking out, Ian!”

Ian looks confused as they watch her stroll towards his mom’s BMW. “Al-righty. That was weird.” Ian rolls his shoulders, leaning on the railing beside Mickey. “Hey, remind me to never have anything to do with lawyers and wills from now on. I officially leave everything to you, and whatever you don’t want you have my permission to sell it on eBay.”

Mickey snorts. He looks at his husband, at his easy smile, and the memories of desperately clinging to him not eight hours ago flash before his eyes. He remembers Ian helping. He remembers feeling thankful rather than ashamed to wear his heart on his sleeve for once, all thanks to him.

Mickey places a small kiss on his husband’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

Ian doesn’t pry further. He just wraps his arm around Mickey's shoulders, and Mickey allows himself to lean into his warmth. “‘Course.”

When Michelle reaches Laura’s car, Mickey calls out to her. “Can you do me a favor, kid?” Michelle frowns before nodding. Mickey could tell her to keep an eye out for their mom. To take care of her because despite her being a bitch, she’s been through a lot of shit. To keep her happy for him. Instead he smirks. “Close your eyes when you get in the car.”

As Laura’s car is passing by them, and when Mickey’s sure that Michelle is doing as she was told, he flips the car, and his mom, and his heartbreak, and the betrayal, and his past off. All the way to the bright Detroit horizon.

Ian mimics him. And Mickey laughs as Laura speeds away, the sunshine reflected on the car blinding him for a second, because Laura Andersen isn’t the only one that will get to go back to the comfort of a place she can finally call home, together with her new family at last.

[ian-galagher]

Quick headcanon challange-

Where do Ian and Mickey live 5 years after canon?

What do they do for work?

Does Fiona come back to Chicago? Does Mandy? Do Vee and Kev?

How are the Gallaghers react to Frank's death?

A cute little head canon you feel like sharing?

Feel free to send it to your favorite blogs 🖤

Thank you so much anon!! This has been so much FUN! And it ended up getting LONG!!! And it only took me like 4 days! 👀😬

After I finished s11 I instantly wrote out a rough draft for "the rest of their lives", but I stopped again because it was just one big fix it. I liked the idea of them going to an adopting agency to start a family. Mickey goes in reluctantly, then meets these two young boys, a bit older than what they were looking for but he instantly gets along with them. Ian, who went in eagerly, now has his doubts because he actually was hoping to get a baby. At night they have an argument over whether or not to go through with it. Upset, Mickey storms out. Ian goes straight after him to work things out in the middle of the street while this old lady walking her dog watches on as if her favorite show has just started. They work it out, agreeing to go ahead with it, when Ian quietly goes, she's still there isn't she... Yeah, she is... Mickey turns to the old lady, points at her little white dog, and goes; pick up your popcorn and fuck off! Show's over lady! So to get back to your actual question dear anon, I like to think Lip sold the house and they bought back a similar one with the money. One big enough for their whole family, cause obviously they end up with 6 kids (Ian can have his baby after all) and a garden for all their pets and tomatoes.

I so wanted to see Ian back in his old job as a paramedic. I did a ton of research into what's a step up from that and it's a flight paramedic! It actually takes years to become one, but I loved the idea of Ian getting to fly around town on a helicopter, saving lives. Mickey I imagined back in security but not at the mall. He's like a bodyguard but for guest speakers at events held in Chicago. It's boring as hell, until of course one day there's a bit of action, which Ian watches on the news, getting worried sick seeing Mickey dive for the speaker while bullets fly around them. It's a race across town to find out if he's okay (he is)

Fiona! Mandy! Vee and Kev! I love them all so much! They're all part of the family and I like to think they all come back and they DEFINITELY all call each other all the time. Ian keeps sending everyone pictures of all the kids and his garden until Mickey complains he's never in any, so for one terrible month he's the subject of every single picture. Both Mickey and the recipients hate it.

Frank will be missed. Not by the Gallaghers, but by someone somewhere. I'm sure a lot of debt collectors attended the funeral.

Whenever they're apart, Mickey gets drunk and "accidentally" pocket dials Ian, gushing for about an hour about how much he loves and misses him. Ian always listens with a goofy smile on his face and peppers him with kisses when they're reunited again.

Bonus: at night Ian counts Mickey's freckles, tracing them with his fingers, only to end on; I got more than you, I win :) competitive as he is, Mickey gets Franny to draw extra dots on his arms and face. They have a blast right up until the moment they discover she used permanent marker, so for the next 3 weeks Mickey walks around looking like a dalmatian, to Ian's great amusement. He still has more freckles but to soften the blow he tells Mickey he's won for those 3 weeks.

[gardenerian]

seeing all your thoughts and love for 7x12, which i agree it's one of the best episodes and really ended things perfectly and how s11 missed the mark so much finale (and just overall tbh), makes me wonder (especially since you're in charge now ) what s11, the whole season or just the finale could've been? if it has been more consistent with the earlier seasons and had the s7 finale vibes if that makes sense. so basically im curious what s11 would be like if u wrote it, what basic storylines and how would everyone end the series?

okay YES what i am saying about 7x12 is not that i wish it had been the finale instead of 11x12, or that i would have been happy about not having a better resolution for mickey... it's just that for a hot second that was the finale. and the energy they brought to it, the emotional stakes that were raised - it felt more like a finale than 11x12. as an episode of television, it's glorious. i'm not even talking about the overall s7 arc or what could have been different. of course i would want better for mickey in s7, but it's far better than what we got in s6.

ANYWAYS no pressure or anything 😭 the thing about s11 is that (some of) the bones were good - they just fucked it on execution. they didn't take anything seriously, and they had little cohesion from one episode to the next. so i'll work with what they gave us:

alright so lip and tami are worried about money. yes, sounds good. i don't know how i feel about the born free thing. maybe he loses that job and he doesn't go off the rails and steal those bikes. maybe he loses the job, and he and brad work to keep each other steady?? and i'm even cool with them trying to figure out what to do with the gallagher house - but i would want the conflict with debbie to be handled better. lip does not lie to tami in basically every episode 🙄 and we do not immediately forget about lip's 10x12 relapse, i would have that be something we return to during the season. and brad would be better utilized in this regard!! okay and i would have tami suspect she's pregnant earlier - so the storyline can be about HER and not just about how lip feels about it. i think it's okay that they had some struggles this season, but it needed to be balanced with some wins. maybe lip leaves that dude's house in the finale and goes to pick up some pamphlets at malcolm x. or he at least googles it, jesus.

ian and mickey are getting used to being married and what that means. they have their talks and disagreements about money or getting their new place.... but they don't hit each other! or demean each other! ian quits his job, has a bit of a slump, and mickey finds a solution in the business. i think this takes more than one episode, though. they learn how to run their own business, how to work closely together. all good. terry still dies - idc how, but i'm not putting liam through that. there's no mockery of terry and mickey's relationship, not goofy antics. mickey has MORE TIME AND SPACE to grieve, and he and ian have some room to reflect on their experiences (aka HOS). they don't shove that kids conversation into five minutes during the finale, it's integrated into the terry stuff. i think they'd still move out, but again, it's not shoved into one episode. i think this season is about them forming a more united vision for their future.

debbie and sandy kinda have a similar storyline to ian and mickey - they moved very quickly into a serious relationship, and now they have to figure out how it works in the day to day. debbie grows her business, tries to come back from her ordeal in 10x12. maybe it's difficult, so she struggles there. i'm still cool with her and lip disagreeing about the house.... but it's her house! it's where she is actively living! and i would want her and lip to have better conversations about that. about what it would really mean to her to lose that house. i like that we got more of sandy's story, i do not like how it gave me whiplash. if they break up, it's later in the season, and it's with the understanding that the timing isn't right for them. debbie has some growing up to do, she has some demons to confront. maybe we get the feeling that their story isn't over. NO HEIDI. debbie wraps up the series by committing to franny, to forging a life for the two of them.

fucking carl. carl gets disillusioned with his job, but no POC have to suffer on his journey to realize that it's not what he thought it would be. i think he's like early ian - he was looking for purpose, he was looking to do some good. but he got lost. the problem is... i don't know what happens instead. maybe kev and v take him under their wing earlier, and the idea of him taking over the bar gets planted before the finale. i don't know how he gets the money.... but 🤷🏻‍♀️ carl finds his way to become a figure in the community. (ultimately i'd hc carl doing something else, but for the season, this could be a start)

liam does not suffer for the entire season, i will not allow it. no milkoviches next door. instead of being terrorized by nazis or feeling constantly afraid of becoming homeless, liam is the one to notice something is up with frank. he has to talk to his siblings, who don't care enough about frank to notice a difference. but!!!! they talk to liam, they pay attention to him (even if they don't pay attention to frank). he learns more about things that happened when he was little, when his brothers and sisters shielded him from so much. but he still has his loyalty to frank. liam tries to focus on school, but it's difficult with the pandemic and his sick dad. lip still offers to take him in, no matter what, and he feels more steady.

frank still dies. kev and v still move away - but they are not so isolated from the gallaghers in this season. the twins don't eat a bunch of drugs. i honestly don't remember much else, that season was a fever dream.

they come together in the finale - still love the bonfire callback. no one sings though. they do not stand around and sing at this man whose car is on fire...... i will not allow it. AND THEY TALK ABOUT FIONA, HELL MAYBE THEY CALL HER!!!!

all in all, we just don't waste time on extra characters or extra stories. we focus on them, and how they're gonna move forward. everyone ends the series with a question on what's next..... but we know it's gonna be okay. we know they still have each other. except frank.

[unbridgeabledistances]

Prompt: Sandy and Debbie break up and Ian and Mickey each take a side. During the fall out Ian worries that Mickey has the same complaints about Ian that drove Sandy to break up with Debbie. But in the end Mickey reassures Ian that their relationship is nothing like theirs.

hi!<3 thank u so much for this prompt, it was so fun to write! hope u enjoy:)

also this scenario could take place anytime between ep 2 and ep 3 of s11, because ian still has his warehouse job

**

“Jesus, Debbie, calm the fuck down. You’re being dramatic”

“Sandy, if you call me dramatic one more time, I swear to god. I’m not trying to be controlling I’m just asking you where you were last night, which is a perfectly reasonable question—”

“Reasonable if you were my mother, maybe, but I can go wherever the fuck I want without you needing to smother me all the time! I was on a run with Terry, because I have no money and don’t really know what to do with myself, and I’m never fucking good enough for you, and that’s literally all you need to know—”

“Trouble in paradise,” Mickey commented as he poured Ian some coffee, breaking the silence in the kitchen, where everyone was staring at their breakfasts and listening to the voices shouting upstairs.

Ian rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Debs isn’t known to be the most… secure partner in a relationship.”

“You can say that again,” added Liam, wrapping his poptart in a napkin and shoving it into his backpack. “I’m just gonna eat on the way to school. It doesn’t seem like this screaming is going to stop anytime soon, and while you and Mickey having sex twice a day is bad enough, Debbie and Sandy having a lover’s quarrel has somehow pushed me over the edge.”

Ian smirked and sipped his coffee. “Can you drop Franny off on the way?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Liam led Franny out of the kitchen, where Ian and Mickey remained, listening to Debbie’s shrill voice drifting through the floorboards.

“Fine, if I can’t know what’s going on in your life, I guess you don’t need to be in mine anymore!”

“Are you fucking serious, Debbie? Why do you need to know where I am, you can barely handle knowing the whereabouts of your own kid—”

Ian and Mickey traded raised eyebrows while Ian silently took a bite of toast.

“Sandy, get out of this house! I don’t need you and your illegal bullshit anyways, all you’re doing is putting me and Franny at risk with Terry and all of his issues—”

“Okay, little miss perfect, but don’t expect me to give a shit when you come crawling back.”

“Fine!”

The door upstairs finally slammed, and seconds later Sandy came stomping down. She looked at Ian.

“Your prissy fucking sister is a pain in my ass. The sooner your whole family realizes that your garbage father is as bad as Terry is, the sooner you’ll hop off of your superiority complex over the Milkoviches and realize that your way of surviving is literally the same as ours.”

Sandy shoved past the kitchen table and out the back door.

Ian breathed out a laugh. “Well, that was an eventful morning.”

“I’ll say,” Mickey agreed, looking at the door Sandy had just walked through. “Do you think I should go talk to her or some shit?”

Ian shrugged. “Nah, I’m sure it’s fine. I’m sure Sandy’ll grow up and apologize for whatever illegal shit she was doing with Terry, Debs will calm down, and everything will go back to the way it was.”

Mickey looked slightly uncomfortable as he placed his mug down on the table. “I mean, she has got a point. I’m sure whatever Sandy was up to was no big deal, Debbie doesn’t need to be freaking out.”

Ian scoffed. “Yeah, if getting involved in all of your dad’s shit is no big deal. Sandy could at least tell Debs whatever she’s up to, that sounds pretty fair to me.”

Mickey stood up, clearing their plates and walking over to the sink. “Whatever, Gallagher. I’m just saying Sandy does have a point about you being marshmallows. If she’s not telling Debbie what she’s up to, it’s probably for her own good.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Mick? Last time you disappeared on a run with your dad without telling me where you were, I literally thought you murdered our PO. How is that better than just telling me you’re hawking some stolen guns or whatever you get up to?”

Mickey distractedly wrung his hands with the dish towel, looking sightly pissed and defensive that Ian would even bring up that onslaught of memories, of their almost-wedding and Ian’s rejection at the courthouse and everything that followed.

“I don’t know, asshole. Maybe because Sandy’s right, and you all can be a little judgy about all the illegal shit. I get that you’re a goody two shoes breaking your fucking back in a warehouse, but that doesn’t mean that everyone needs to work their ass off to make minimum wage like you. I used to do shit for my dad all the time, so does Sandy and she doesn’t need anyone to be her keeper.”

Ian rolled his eyes, taking a final sip of coffee and standing up. “Alright, whatever. I’m gonna be late.” He pecked the top of Mickey’s head as he put his mug in the sink. “Enjoy your hard day’s work of watching TV and jacking off.”

Mickey turned and flipped him off as Ian strode out of the room.

Later that day, as Ian was mechanically checking expiration dates on an order of off-brand crackers, he couldn’t help but replay he and Mickey’s conversation from that morning over and over in his mind. Was Mickey seriously going to defend Sandy for sneaking with Terry behind Debbie’s back? He knew Mickey didn’t give a shit about making minimum wage right now, but was Mickey really going to spend the rest of his life following in his dad’s footsteps, depending on his next heist for cash? And, worst of all, did that mean he was going to live a life of feeling like he needed to hide every move from Ian? Ian knew what he was signing up for when they got married, that being with Mickey always meant some level of scamming and schmoozing; but for some reason, he thought that now that Mickey and his dad had fallen out that Mickey’s existence would stop being so constantly on the brink of incarceration.

He’d expected marriage to be a partnership—but so far, it felt like he and Mickey were on different pages about pretty much everything.

When Ian finally made it home and stumbled in the front door, tired and bleary, Sandy was still noticeably absent from the Gallagher house. Debbie and Franny were in the kitchen, along with Liam who was muddling through his homework at the table. Ian went upstairs and found Mickey laying on their bed, watching some sort of video on his phone at full volume. He didn’t look up when Ian came into the room.

“Hey, Mick. Can we talk for a sec?” Ian asked, taking off his hat and coat and gingerly placing them on the bottom corner of the bed.

Mickey still didn’t look up from his phone. “Don’t know what the fuck you want to talk about.”

Ian sat on the edge of the bed. “Did… Sandy and Debbie make up yet?”

Mickey huffed. “What d’you think.”

“Guess not. How’s Sandy doing?”

“Don’t know, haven’t heard from her yet. Figure she’s just off somewhere blowing off some steam.”

Ian approached the next topic with caution.

“So, uh, I was thinking. And I think we need to talk again about, y’know, our mutual expectations.”

“This shit again? Listen, we already did this, I know we agreed that we aren’t fucking other people—"

“No, no I mean about other stuff. Not even the money stuff again really, just like… if you’re ever going to go back to doing the shit that Terry does. For example.”

“What the fuck are you even talking about man, you know I don’t talk to that asshole anymore.”

“I know, but—what if you want to do stuff with Sandy, or someone makes you an offer for a big job? What if you end up in jail again? What if you feel the way Sandy does and you feel like you need to hide all this stuff from me, meanwhile I’m just here working my ass off trying to make a life for us—”

Mickey paused the video and finally looked up from the phone.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Gallagher?”

Ian ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I just… I don’t want you to not tell me shit, the way Sandy was with Debbie. I’d rather know what illegal bullshit you’re up to, even if you think it’s going to piss me off. I… I don’t want to lose you again. I don’t want you to have to lie to me, and I don’t want you to go to jail again. I just wanna be on the same page.”

Ian inched his hand over the covers and placed it on top of Mickey’s as he kept talking.

“I know we’ve been fighting a lot lately, not agreeing on stuff. But I just…want you to know that I’m in this. I love you, I’m your fucking husband. I want us to work together, and I don’t want you to think that I can’t handle anything, or that we can’t tackle everything together.”

Ian looked down at their hands, letting the silence swell as he traced Mickey’s palm with his thumb.

“Hey, Gallagher. Look at me.”

Ian met Mickey’s eyes—Mickey was looking directly at him, unguarded and open. It reminded him of the look on Mickey’s face when he had tried to break up with Mickey the first time, back when they were both kids sitting on the front stoop and Mickey had sprinted over when Ian called; when Mickey had split himself open, had told Ian how much he loved him, through sickness and health and everything they were about to go through.  

“Sandy’s got her own bullshit to learn. About people caring about her, caring where she is, caring if she throws her life away. But I’ve been here this whole time, and I’ve learned that. Why do you think I used to throw myself into as much risky bullshit as I could, before I was locked up? I was losing myself in everything, because all I ever wanted was this.”

He put his hand up to Ian’s face—a small gesture, but probably the most intimate touch he’d given Ian in weeks. It stung like ice and fire on Ian’s cheek, like electricity was flickering where his fingertips met Ian’s skin.

“I’ve pointed a glock at my asshole dad’s head and been willing to take the bullet for this. I’m not getting involved in any shit that can take you away from me, Gallagher. Am I going to stop forging my payroll for my PO? Or stop selling shitty expired brownie mix? Probably not. But I’m not gonna do anything risky, anything that might take me away from you for good. Never was.”

Ian sighed. He was being stupid, and he knew that. But between all of their senseless bickering the last few weeks, he couldn’t help but worry that Mickey was feeling more and more indifferent about this whole marriage situation, or getting restless about being pinned down. He listened earnestly as Mickey continued talking.

“How many times have I told you—my family was never there for me. You’re the only family I need. And I made that shit official when I put a ring on your finger, or I guess when I forced you to put one on mine. I’ve always been there for you, I’m always gonna be there for you. We fought long and hard enough for this, Gallagher. You just gotta believe in me.”

There it was—that fondness in Mickey’s eyes, the softness that he tried to hard to hide, but showed up anyways as he was tying Ian’s tie, or holding him close through a wave of depression, or kissing his forehead when he gave Ian his meds. Mickey was never going to let anything come between them again, not after all the pitfalls and heartbreak they’d been through—Ian realized that now, even more than he already had.

“I know, Mick. I believe you.”

“You’d better, asshole. Now c’mere.”

Mickey led Ian’s chin forward, and their lips met—just a ghost of a touch, at first, but it made Ian grab the back of Mickey’s neck and pull him in closer, fiercely slotting their lips together again and again.  

They broke apart, and Ian smiled sheepishly. “Sorry for freaking out.”

“I’m all yours, Mr. Milkovich. Whatever shit our families get into can’t change that.”

[cepmurphy]

“No such thing as privacy here.” – Kerblam!

Ryan’s about to face the most horrifying threat of all: going back to work.

Kerblam! is an admirably well-constructed episode, with every single element turning out to be relevant to the plot or its themes. This starts from the fact the Doctor has made deliveries before (thus explaining how the System knew to contact her specifically) and the moment when Ryan pops the bubblewrap in an apparent gag scene, and extends even to Charlie’s introduction – entering a room right after a scene where his hacked robots have claimed his latest victim. He is literally coming back from that into Graham’s scene! And it’s a well-constructed episode that tells us how systems and organisations will not be well constructed! 

We’re first misled into believing this is a story about cod-Amazon eating its workers and while it twists away in the end, the company Kerblam! is explicitly a crap place to work. This is a place where you’re told “I hope people feel it’s a privilege to work at Kerblam” right before a robot puts a tracking device on your ankle. You can’t talk and interact with your fellow workers without a robot reminding you, in faux-friendly tones, that you need to pick up the pace. Nobody knows what anyone else is doing. The higher-ups don’t trust each other. You can get lost in the stacks and nobody would know if you died. Even when everyone’s on break, the robots watch like guards.

And as well as being clear this is crap, the episode is clear this is not so different to real warehouses right now. Ryan is not phased by the GroupLoop trackers because he’s already worn them in Sheffield. He knows the score. Just like in our world, workers like Dan put up with the grinding indignities because they need the money. All of this is hidden by clever marketing and a smiling corporate logo. Kerblam! isn’t holding a mirror up to our world but a window.

What causes this? Amorality. We’re told over and over about “the System” as something separate to the workers and even management, and eventually seemingly nasty executive Jarva Slade admits he’s not in the charge – the System is. There’s no people running the company anymore, “there’s only the System”. This does leave upper management of real such companies off the hook but is a good, powerful metaphor for what it feels like for most of the people working there: nobody is in control, the company is just sustaining itself, the processes have taken over. The System isn’t even a malevolent computer system like WOTAN or BOSS, it’s barely sentient, it’s just doing what it was told to do. It cannot factor humans in correctly or be humane, it’s only a computer system and the humans, over time, have allowed it control.

The Doctor will say at the end that systems aren’t good or evil, it’s how people use them. Here, we have people leaving systems to their own devices and finding, too late, there’s little way for humans to get back in. And the humans who could are too divided from each other to try.

(Let’s go back to Slade and talk about a grand bit of misdirection: when the Doctor responds to his bullying of Kira by snapping back, and trying to pressure him to reveal anything he knows. When he reacts with fear, we think she’s onto him. But Slade thinks this means the Doctor is killing people and is threatening him that he might be next!)

But this is Doctor Who S11, and once again the threat is a human and not an ‘other’. Charlie is a great unexpected villain but the signs are there. He’s startled and worried to have Graham around. He’s working the job we’re told means you can get around anywhere unnoticed. When the Kerblam Man arrives during the blackout, Charlie approaches it saying he can fix it (and how does he know how to do that?) and its “rampage” only starts when he’s near it; in the background, after he’s saved, we can see he’s not surprised a Kerblam Man tried to kill him. He tries to talk the others out of parts of their investigation or following him to find Kira. He also doesn’t know much about interacting with humans and has some weird views on women, and there’s a lot of dangerous men who turned out to have weird creepy views on women.

“Have you smelt her?” he asks Graham about the girl he’s been eyeing for months, and that’s played as a comedy beat but consider what sort of person does that.

Charlie’s motive is entirely understandable: he wants to stop automation and have humans back in work & charge of the systems. We’ve spent most of the episode being shown that’s a good thing and the story ends with Kerblam! restructuring to employ humans and be better. But Charlie’s move ‘for the people’ is for ‘the people’ in abstract. The actual workers are just fodder for his experiments. And these are co-workers, people he may know – but they don’t matter compared to his greater good. “For the cause!” The human threats in the previous episode and in the following The Witchfinders take the same view, a trilogy of people with grand ideas willing to wade in blood.

(Both this and Punjab also show these to be radicalised young men, another nod to right now)

There’s a bum note here though: the System killing Kira.

Now, this is set up well – right from Kira saying she can’t believe the System let her keep her job after her first week, while the camera shows us a Kerblam Man watching her from the shadows. The System has clearly been keeping her around because it knows Charlie’s infatuated. The System grabs Kira at the point when its attempt to outright kill Charlie has been thwarted, and is noted to be a message (which the cast think is directed at the group in general). The actual kill is delayed to ensure Charlie will see it – and Ryan immediately clocks that he knew the bubblewrap was lethal, leading into the reveal. And we know the System is blunt when it comes to fulfilling its objectives, so it makes sense it would think this would work at getting through to Charlie.

The problem though is that everyone reacts with horror and disgust and then this stops when the Doctor says the System has a conscience, that it’s resisting. The problem is the Doctor is not disgusted or note that this is an amoral thing the System has done – other characters know it was wrong, the death is constructed to horrify us, it’s clear the writer and director and everyone else making the episode know it’s wrong, intend for us to think it. So why is this not mentioned? Was a line cut?

This is the only quibble, though it is an annoyingly big one. The rest of the episode remains intricately made, attacking multiple targets at once, and full of character beats – Yaz being the first person to say they have to help someone in trouble and realising Dan saved her life, Graham trying to coax Charlie with paternalism, Ryan’s frustrations at being stuck in space-work, the Doctor against injustice. (She’s changed her view on conspiracies from Arachnids but let’s be fair, when she said she “loves” a conspiracy she was socialising with Yaz’s dad, not reacting to missing people)

And god those robots look creepy. Fixed insincere smiles and permanently chummy voices coming at you. Brrrr.

[cutsliceddiced]

New top story from Time: Singapore Was a Coronavirus Success Story—Until an Outbreak Showed How Vulnerable Workers Can Fall Through the Cracks

Since mid-March, Asadul Alam Asif has watched nervously as Singapore reported more and more COVID-19 cases in migrant workers’ dormitories like the one where he lives.

The 28-year-old Bangladeshi technician counted himself lucky each day that nobody was infected in his housing block, where around 1,900 workers reside in cramped conditions that make social distancing impossible. To relieve congestion, Asif’s company rehoused some people, which left half of the 16 bunk-beds in his small room empty.

But then, one day last week, seven people in Asif’s dorm tested positive.

He received a text message instructing all residents on the fifth and sixth floors—including him—not to leave their rooms.

“All of us slept very late that night, like 1 or 2 a.m.,” he told TIME by phone. “We were all so worried.”

Asif is one of the more than 200,000 foreign workers living in Singapore’s dormitories, where often 10 to 20 men are packed into a single room. Built to house the workers who power the construction, cleaning and other key industries, these utilitarian complexes on the city-state’s periphery have become hives of infection, revealing a blind spot in Singapore’s previously vaunted coronavirus response.

As of April 28, these dorms were home to 85% of Singapore’s 14,951 cases.

“The dormitories were like a time bomb waiting to explode,” Singapore lawyer Tommy Koh wrote in a widely circulated Facebook post earlier this month. “The way Singapore treats its foreign workers is not First World but Third World.”

As the coronavirus continues its insidious spread, Singapore’s outbreak suggests the danger of overlooking any population. Even when containment efforts appear to succeed in flattening the curve, keeping it that way remains a difficult, relentless endeavor.

“If we forget marginalized communities, if we forget the poor, the homeless, the incarcerated… we are going to continue to see outbreaks,” says Gavin Yamey, Associate Director for Policy at the Duke Global Health Institute. “This will continue to fuel our epidemic.”

Roslan Rahman—AFP/Getty Images A healthcare worker collects a nasal swab sample from a migrant worker testing for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus at a dormitory in Singapore on April 27, 2020.

Essential workers

The world’s estimated 164 million migrant laborers are particularly vulnerable both to the disease and to its economic fallout. Their risk of infection is compounded by factors like overcrowded living quarters, hazardous working conditions, low pay and often limited access to social protections.

“Migrants are likely to be the hardest hit,” says Cristina Rapone, a rural employment and migration specialist at the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

For undocumented workers, the threat of the virus is even higher. “They might not seek healthcare because they may risk being deported,” Rapone says.

Read more: Coronavirus May Disproportionately Hurt the Poor—And That’s Bad for Everyone

In the Gulf, a wealthy region dependent upon blue collar labor from South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, the virus has also ripped through migrant worker housing. Figures from Kuwait, the U.A.E. and Bahrain suggest the majority of cases have been among foreigners, many of whom live in unsanitary work camps, the Guardian reports.

Migrant workers with insecure, informal or seasonal jobs also tend to be among the first to be let go in a crisis. When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hastily announced an impending nationwide lockdown in March, hundreds of thousands of internal migrant workers suddenly found themselves unemployed and homeless, forced to flee the cities en masse. The arduous journeys back to their villages—some reportedly walking as much as 500 miles—were made worse by the stigma of being seen as both patients and carriers of the virus.

Noah Seelam—AFP/Getty Images Indian migrant workers walk along a highway on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, on April 28, 2020.

“There is increasing risk that migrants returning to rural areas face discrimination and stigmatization, because they are said to be carrying or spreading the virus,” says Rapone. FAO staff in Asia and Latin America have reported such cases, she adds.

Yet the spread of the coronavirus has also revealed just how much of the “essential work” depends on migrants, from the medical sector to deliveries to the global food supply.

In the U.S., about half of the farmworkers are undocumented immigrants, according to the Department of Agriculture. Classified as essential workers, they continue to toil in fields, orchards and packing plants across the nation, even as much of the economy is shut down. Limited access to healthcare, cramped living and working conditions, and even a reported lack of soap on some farms can put them at high risk of contracting the virus.

“Globally, we’re very dependent on migrants to fill up jobs that are absolutely essential to sustain our economies,” says Mohan Dutta, a professor who studies the intersection of poverty and health at Massey University in New Zealand. He adds that health authorities need to do more to protect them.

A ‘hidden backbone’

Singapore’s outbreak highlights what can happen if some of the lowest paid and most vulnerable people in society go unnoticed during the health crisis. After reporting single-digit daily caseloads in February, the island nation of 5.6 million now has the highest number of reported COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia.

This month, cases began surging past 1,000 per day, and almost all the patients were migrant workers.

“The government was really focused on fighting COVID-19 on two battlefronts: community transmission and imported cases,” says Jeremy Lim, co-director of global health at the National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. “But it overlooked the vulnerabilities of this third front that’s now glaringly obvious to everyone.”

Singapore’s 1.4 million foreign workers make up about one-third of the country’s total workforce, according to government figures. Most of the low-wage workers are from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and other countries.

Advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) calls them the “hidden backbone” of Singapore society.

“Everything you see as development, [like] the building sector, the marine sector—all this depends very, very much on migrant workers,” says Christine Pelly, an Executive Committee member of TWC2. “Their contribution permeates throughout society in a very necessary and essential way.”

Migrant workers, Mohan adds, are an invisible community in Singapore. Their dormitories are located on the outskirts of the city and on their rest days, they congregate in districts like Little India and Chinatown, where ethnic food shops and money remittances are located. Due to fear of losing their jobs, many do not complain about their living and working conditions.

“Not only are they unseen, but their voices are also unheard,” says Dutta.

Ore Huiying—Getty Images A migrant worker has his temperature checked by a security guard before leaving a factory-converted dormitory in Singapore on April 17, 2020.

TWC2 says it has spent years trying to call the government’s attention to the cramped and dirty dormitory conditions that now pose a grave public health threat. Government regulations stipulate that each occupant be allotted 4.5 square meters (about 48 square feet) of living space, meaning that rooms for 20 people can be as small as 960 square feet, while facilities like bathrooms, kitchens and common rooms are shared.

Some dorms now have hundreds of cases. One of them, the sprawling S11 complex, has over 2,200. Nizam, a 28-year-old Bangladeshi, moved out of S11 after his roommate tested positive earlier this month. He was transferred to a quarantine center.

“One hundred and seventy people share [a] common washroom, kitchen and the room where we eat,” the construction worker says. “Everything is shared. That’s why the virus is spreading like that.”

Besides the dormitories, rights groups have also sounded the alarm on the trucks that ferry migrants to and from work in the gleaming city center. Workers, usually about a dozen or more, are typically packed shoulder to shoulder in the open backs of lorries.

Pivoting strategies

Singapore is scrambling to neutralize the ballooning crisis by locking down the dorms and trying to space out residents.

“This is Singapore’s largest humanitarian public health crisis ever. So the logistics of moving thousands of people, feeding and separating them is not at all straightforward,” says Lim, who also volunteers to help migrant workers.

Around 10,000 workers have been moved out of their dormitories and into vacant housing blocks and military camps. Medical personnel have been stationed at dorms to carry out “aggressive testing,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an April 21 address.

Dormitory residents have been instructed to stop working. The government has said employers must continue to pay their migrant workers during that period, and that testing and treatment will be free.

While workers are being provided three meals a day and free wifi, they are completely dependent on handouts. Workers TIME spoke with say they have not been allowed to leave their dorms, not even to buy groceries or other necessities.

Their treatment also contrasts with the four and five-star hotels that the government has paid to house Singaporeans returning from overseas, fueling criticism of further inequities.

Read more: The Coronavirus Is Hitting Our Nation’s Prisons and Jails Hard. And It’s Exposing a Crisis That Existed Long Before the Outbreak

A warning from Singapore

As migrant workers endure the brunt of Singapore’s outbreak, observers say the situation should serve as a reminder for other countries to pay attention to vulnerable residents, especially those for whom social distancing is a luxury.

“They need to be spread out, but they also need to have access to basic infrastructures like ventilation, clean toilets, adequate supply of water, adequate cleaning supplies,” says Dutta, the New Zealand professor.

Seeking to blunt the economic repercussions of the pandemic, many countries are now rushing to restart their economies. Several states in the U.S. have started reopening this week, while in Germany and France schools and businesses are making plans to resume.

But Dutta cautioned against loosening restrictions before ensuring vulnerable groups have access to basic sanitation and decent accommodation. Infections among marginalized communities, if not properly contained, could increase the risk for the entire population, he warns.

“Inequalities are the breeding grounds for pandemics,” he says. “Countries absolutely have to learn [from Singapore] before it’s too late.”

Please send tips, leads, and stories from the frontlines to virus@time.com.

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste

[awed-frog]

The Memory Remains/Carthago Delenda

On the whole, I think I really liked this episode? It certainly felt very old school, in the best possible sense. There were a couple of moments I was actually worried, and considering that I know perfectly well both Sam and Dean will always be fine, that’s quite something. 

I sort of liked the mythology, and I liked the class thing, and as for Dean hooking up with a waitress - look, first - this is the writer who practically wrote Dean as bi in Beyond the Mat, his only other Supernatural episode. I know they didn’t quite go there, but by paralleling a young Sam jerking off to some picture of Rio (sorry to be coarse, but that’s exactly what it was and it was confirmed both by dialogue and by Sam’s embarrassed stammering) with Dean’s obsession for Gunnar, well, kudos for the effort. And Jensen, of course, went with it, like he always does, and made the whole thing very obvious. So there’s that, and second - this is what Dean does. He’s a kisser and a hugger and all about touching and be touched, and sex with strangers was the only thing that, growing up, gave him that physical intimacy he craved and nobody else was capable to share with him. We know Mary was dead, of course, and John was not the hugging type, and Sam - my headcanon (which I use liberally in my fics, and sue me) is that he was an expansive child and Dean secretly loved it, but at some point John told both of them to just cut it out already, ‘cause you’re too old for this shit now. So that was that, and from then on, touch that actually matters has been in short supply for Dean - and, unlike Sam, whom I read as more reserved, Dean craves to be touched and held. It’s just who he is. So, whatever - he’s worried sick about Cas, and that’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and there’s a million other things going through his head and now that stupid sheriff’s brought half of them up again by talking about a kid who grew up with an abusive father as though that’s nothing and what can you do (I actually went back and looked three times at that scene, at how the sheriff says, “Guess who gets to take care of him?” because something was bugging me and yeah, there it was - Sam visibly makes an effort to react to the conversation because it’s what’s expected from him, but Dean just looks up - up and to the left, that is, which is what happens when you remember past experiences; and I don’t want this person who reads a lot into every detail, but these are basic biology things an actor would do without even realizing, and also it’s beyond canon, by this point, that Dean took care of John more than once, because that’s what happens when you’ve got an alcoholic parent) - and, sorry, here’s the end of the sentence - it looks perfectly reasonable to me that Dean would want some comfort, and I do believe he slept with that woman and that it was great and that it cheered him up a bit in some bittersweet way and what can you do?

Honestly, all that I’m upset about is that the straight stuff is always out in the open and for the queer one you need to stop your video and squint at the scene and the paintings and the colours and yeah, that BS smack on Dean and the waitress could be nothing -

(Also, that girl is not his type at all. She was just there, and she liked him, and, as he’s told us himself, he likes waitresses because they smell like food and it’s not easy to get them - if that doesn’t sound like comfort and a need for validation to you, I don’t know what does.)

Moving away from Destiel-related content, I really liked how seamlessly the different parts of the episode moved into one another. From that woman reading the text of the Fourth Amendment on the radio at the very beginning (the one which makes it illegal to search a house without a warrant or probable cause, that is), to Ketch and his men walking around in Sam and Dean’s lives as they themselves are in the outside world, living them - that was very well done.

Also well done: the whole social commentary on class and money. 

Industrial benefactors are sometimes seen as a good thing, because they normally provide houses for their workers and schools for their workers’ kids and therefore create and enrich a whole community, but personally I’ve always hated the concept (which is not as outdated as one would expect, and ew) and I was happy to see our writer didn’t give them an inch. Yes, sure, the town did prosper, but that factory was creepy and unpleasant in itself (even if you eat meat, you gotta admit that the meat industry and meat factories are about as bleak and morally ambiguous as you can get) and, more importantly, it was only held together by human sacrifice. The idea that it could, in fact, be considered acceptable to lose a kid every year so that the rest of the village can get by was never even suggested, and thank God. Instead, the whole episode read like some old-fashioned Quaker or Socialist leaflet: money corrupts (look at our first victim, lured to his death by a backpack full of dollar bills), creates division and resentment (the tale of the two brothers may have read like a bad Dynasty episode, but these things happen every day), generally comes from blood (the entire god story and the sacrifices) and it’s always better to be honest and poor than rich and tainted (I really liked the sheriff, poor guy).

As for the lore itself - I’m slightly less happy with it, mostly because I would expect both Sam and Dean to know perfectly well what a satyr is (and no, they don’t eat human flesh - those were the women who danced with Dionysos, totally different stuff) and because Moloch has been maligned plenty enough, but I did appreciate the casual horror of it all - a starved and tortured god locked in your cellar, people dressing as animals to capture an unwilling sacrifice - very gothic and compelling.

Since we’re now talking about pagan stuff, maybe Sam and Dean’s discussion about their legacy and mortality made sense, but it was still hard to watch. What happened to the wary hope of S11? To the idea it’s not too late to find a partner, perhaps even to have kids? With that mournful discussion and by carving their initials in the Bunker’s table, Sam and Dean have somehow closed the circle. Their story, this is what they seem to think, is not going anywhere, is not leaving any memory behind. The thing was so sweet and sad, I’m actually comforted by the fact this is not the last season, because there it was - the perfect foundation to end this story in a burst of flames. The reminder to their childhood, the belated acknowledgement that it wasn’t, in the end, as bad as it could have been (“Next time you hear me say that our family is messed up, remind me that we could be psycho goat people,” Dean says, and man, now I can’t wait for that confrontation with Mary we know is coming), the quiet acceptance about their importance in history (non-existent), in people’s lives (often significant) and in their own consciences (“We left the world better than we found it, you know.”) - the knowledge that one day they’ll both die, and they’ll be forgotten, and someone else will live in the Bunker, fight on - it was heartbreaking, but also - also, after all these years of anger and torment and hurt, it looks like Sam and Dean are very close to being okay with everything - their family, their jobs, their place in the world, and even each other - and that’s -

- yeah.

We'll eventually fade away, too.

Just in case someone is wondering: Moloch was the god of Carthage, a city which used to be roughly where Tunis is now. At one point, it was Rome’s main rival - mostly because Carthaginians were better educated and smarter and had a longer and richer civilisation behind them - so Rome started a brutal campaign against them which included a few wars and also liberal amounts of bullshit propaganda. What Moloch is generally associated with is child sacrifice, which ties in nicely with our two victims in The Memory Remains, and I’m not saying that never happened at all, but still - it’s very likely it didn’t happen with the alarming frequency described by some of the more vitriolic Roman politicians. Plus, you know - human sacrifice is a thing in every culture, and it makes perfect sense. A human life, and especially a child’s life, is the most precious thing a community has to offer, right up there with other very precious things, like a good stallion or a fertile bull, so when things start to go really bad, you have up up the ante a bit. Gods are not stupid, and no god is going to show up and save your stupid city in exchange for a loaf of bread and two rabbits. That’s just the way it goes, and everyone knows it. Even the Romans used to perform human sacrifices in times of trouble, so they can just shut it (as you can see, since I’m an archaeologist I’m approaching history in a calm, academic fashion, without taking sides, because that would be both unprofessional and pointless).

Oh, and this is a statue of Moloch which was created for some movie and ended up in someone’s garden in New Jersey, because why not.

Random thoughts: 

I so wish this was on HBO, because Jesus, stoned!Dean must be quite something and that’s clearly something he does, or used to do, a lot and uuugh, where’s my spinoff on those four years he spent without Sam?

Ketch is definitely coded as bisexual - what kind of man notices another man’s hair or clothes? - but at the moment I’m more interested in him stealing Mary’s picture and what he thinks about it.

Which Stark was Sam supposed to be? Who would appeal to him the most? Since Dean was Oberyn, I’m guessing we’re not looking for Tony, but for a random member of the Stark family - Ned, perhaps? Or Bran?

As for Dean picking Oberyn, lol. Bisexual guy who gets into fights to protect his family and is in love with an unpredictable ‘I’m as strong as you and can look after myself, thank you very much’ partner - it’s okay, sweetie, we’ve got you.

If this isn’t going anywhere, Wanek needs to take a chill pill - look at the ships and the puppies and the trench coats and oh my God, that BS sign - what the hell, man?

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'Arachnids in the UK' recap: Spiders invade Sheffield in a scary, funny 'Doctor Who' romp

Jodie Whittaker in Doctor Who: Arachnids in the UK (BBC)

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The fourth episode of Doctor Who S11 has landed. Here’s everything you need to know about ‘Arachnids in the UK’:

What’s it about? The Doctor brings Graham, Yaz and Ryan home to Sheffield, only to find the city overrun by giant spiders – and a blowhard American business tycoon whose similarity to a certain US president is entirely intentional.

Verdict: Given Doctor Who’s track record of turning everyday objects into the stuff of nightmares, it’s surprising the show hasn’t done more with spiders over the years. After all, with even the word enough to send some people scurrying for the hills, it feels like half the work’s already done.

‘Arachnids in the UK’ more than makes up for the oversight, however: it may be a shockingly poor pun, but it’s a terrific Doctor Who story, mixing big scares with big laughs and plenty of feels.

In many ways, it evokes the the contemporary, urban milieu of Russell T Davies’s watch – especially the scenes set in and around Sheffield’s Park Hill council estate, where we meet Yaz’s family for the first time. But in Hallowe’en week, Chris Chibnall pushes the terror further than Davies was comfortable with: make no mistake, these oversized arachnids – some the size of vans – won’t do anything to help spiders stage a PR fightback. (Though it does address the age-old jibe about them not being able to get out of the bath in somewhat spectacular fashion.)

Chris Noth as Robertson in Doctor Who: Arachnids in the UK (BBC)

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Not all the meanies in the story have eight legs: Chris Noth’s Robertson, a blowhard business tycoon with presidential ambitions, is terrific panto villain (if you can call a character based on the current leader of the free world a panto villain, which you absolutely can). We get the measure of him right off the bat with his brutal dismissal of Yaz’s Mum (“You’re fired” being a less than subtle nod to Donald Trump’s former job on The Apprentice). This is a man who expects the world to jump to attention at the snap of his fingers, which makes it all the sweeter when the Doctor bowls in and takes command, reducing Robertson to the role of emasculated bystander.

It’s a very funny episode, full of moments of charm for Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor. I loved her awkwardness in Yaz’s flat (“Am I being weird?”) and her baffled response to being asked if she and Yaz are seeing each other (“We’re not, are we?”). There are plenty of emotional beats, too. Graham’s return home is deeply moving (“I’ve got so much to tell you”). And the Doctor has never looked more lonely and vulnerable than when struggling to say goodbye to her friends – and rarely more excited by anything in the universe than the giddy thrill of “tea at Yaz’s”. It’s delightful stuff.

Director Sallie Aprahamian’s CV includes a fair chunk of children’s TV, and she’s clearly enjoying being let off the leash here: parents can expect plenty of requests to sleep with the lights on this week, and no doubt the odd damp sheet too. Aprahamian’s vision is well supported by the show’s new FX house, Double Negative, whose CG spiders are of the Hollywood quality you’d expect from the digital boffins behind Blade Runner 2049.

How gorgeous, too, is the TARDIS’s kaleidoscopic tumble through the time vortex – surely the most stunning in-flight sequence we’ve ever seen in Doctor Who? (And one that put me in mind of Miguel’s journey into the candy-coloured Land of the Dead in Coco.)

Falling out of that polychromatic lightshow onto the streets of Sheffield is a beautiful example of how Doctor Who juggles the fantastic with the domestic. It’s also a reminder that being British is key to the show’s USP: audiences are hardwired to expect this sort of stuff in New York and LA, so it’s glorious to see giant spiders creeping and crawling over South Yorkshire. And fighting said critters with a blast of Stormzy is another very British – and quite brilliant – touch.

Story Continues

Sheffield is a fine city, of course, but by the end of this episode, Graham, Yaz and Ryan have decided they want more. They’ve had a taste of life with the Doctor, and now they’re hooked. But she can’t guarantee their safety. “When I pull that lever,” she tells them. “I’m never quite sure what’s going to happen.” And neither are we. That’s the magic of Doctor Who in a nutshell.

Doctor Who: Arachnids in the UK (BBC)

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Doctor’s notes: The Doctor used to have a sister. She’s worried she might be socially awkward in her new body. Or maybe she’s just nervous.

Fellow travellers: We meet Yaz’s family: mum Najia, sister Sonia and dad Hakim (who is lovely, but makes terrible pakora). Yaz hasn’t met anyone special because she’s “married to the job”. Ryan gets a letter from his dad, and is annoyed by its reference to Graham as not being “proper” family. Is he slowly warming to the idea of him as his granddad? Graham has started talking to Grace. By the end of the episode, all have decided they want to swap Sheffield for adventures in space and time.

Isn’t that…? Chris Noth (Robertson) is best known for playing ‘Mr Big’ in Sex and the City, along with roles in in Law & Order and The Good Wife. Shobna Gulati (Najia) has been a mainstay of British TV for 20 years, most famously as Anita in Dinnerladies and Sunita in Coronation Street.

Location, location, location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, 2018.

Scary monsters: Giant spiders, mutated by “a soup of toxic waste” beneath Robertson’s hotel.

Quote unquote: “Something’s wrong with the spider eco-system in South Yorkshire.” The Doctor

“In the end, every living thing has the same instinct: to come back home.” The Doctor

“You can’t be President if you fire Yaz’s mum.” The Doctor

Shobna Gulati appears in ‘Arachnids in the UK’.

“I want more. More of the universe. More time with you. You’re like the best person I’ve ever met.” Yaz, speaking for every viewer there.

Gadgets and gizmos: The psychic paper is back, showing the Doctor to be a “crisis investigator”. Which is pretty on the money, actually.

Best bit: In an episode packed with scares, laughs and high-octane thrills, perhaps the most affecting moment is the Doctor’s response to the simple offer of staying for tea: “Definitely, yes I would! I love tea. Tea at Yaz’s? Amazing!’

Worst bit: The Doctor’s solution to Sheffield’s spider problem seems rather effortless, and brings the story shuddering to something of an abrupt halt.

Scariest bit: The Doctor, Ryan and Jade exploring Anna’s flat is deliciously creepy. Monsters literally under the bed – what could be more Doctor Who than that? Anna’s body covered in cobwebs is also a memorable image (was anyone else reminded of Robert Smith in the video for The Cure’s Lullaby?).

Funniest bit: “Are you Ed Sheeran? Is he Ed Sheeran? Everyone talks about Ed Sheeran round about now, don’t they?”

Huh? The story is predicated on rather a lot of unlikely coincidences: Of all the cities in all the world, the spider infestation just happens to be Sheffield, Yaz’s mum just happens to be working at the hotel, and their neighbour at the testing lab. What are the odds?

Back in time: Grabbing vinegar from the kitchen cupboard to fight off a marauding monster in a flat feels like a deliberate nod to Jackie Tyler melting a Slitheen with a jugful of acetic acid in 2005’s World War Three.

Next time – ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’: Injured and stranded in the wilds of a far-flung galaxy, The Doctor, Yaz, Graham and Ryan must band together with a group of strangers to survive against one of the universe’s most deadly – and unusual – creatures.

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Source: https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/arachnids-uk-recap-spiders-invade-sheffield-scary-funny-doctor-romp-195341574.html